New One of The Gang
by aguamarine1116
Summary: What happens when Katara finds out she has a twin? A twin who just so happens to be a dual-bender? Follows the cartoon series (and then some) from the perspective of Tami, Katara's twin and Sokka's second sister
1. Chapter 1

About 15 years ago, the Southern Water Tribe welcomed in a new pair of twins (being as small as the Southern Water Tribe was, every single person knew about the birth mere minutes after it happened). One twin was named Katara, and the other was named Anika. Their mother adored them, as did their father, grandmother, and the rest of the tribe, even their older brother, Sokka. It seemed that they could do nothing wrong, except be absolutely adorable.

But, of course, tragedy hit.

The Fire Nation, which was still battling a war against the other elements, had gotten word that a water bender had been born to the Southern Water Tribe, the first born there since the Avatar's time. Knowing just how dangerous water benders could be once fully taught, the Fire Lord sent out his older brother to capture the water bender and bring it back so he could train it to become one of the most deadly warriors in his army.

Except, once the brother successfully managed to capture one of the twins, his inner compassion won over his duty to his nation and brother, and he decided to save the little girl. His son was fighting in the war right now, and his wife had died during childbirth, thus Iroh was quite lonely. The baby girl could help him regain his joy. All it took was a lie saying the water bender died of cholera, and another lie saying he found an abandoned infant one night once he got back, and then she was all his.

She was his little girl, as close to him as a daughter could get, even a fake one. He taught her to be compassionate, and true to herself, and to be fierce.

A rough patch came once, though. When she was around 4, her ability to water bend suddenly became pronounced. He knew that if people found out, they would most definitely throw both him and his beautiful daughter into prison for treason. But he also knew that if he tried to stifle her talents, she would never truly be herself, and most likely rebel against him. But one option was still left. He'd been taught by the dragons, and could see a fire inside her, so he decided to teach her fire bending, while still training her in water bending. Surprisingly, she excelled in both, surpassing both her cousins and most definitely coming close to the water bending masters in the Northern Water Tribe. He could not have been more proud.

Unfortunately, his duties as a general did not stop because he had obtained a daughter. She was frequently shipped off to her uncle's family to stay for months on end with her cousins while he continued warring, only being able to communicate with her father through occasional letters and gifts. She didn't mind though. She knew it was his job, so she never complained about being bullied by her uncle, cousin, and her cousin's friends to him.

Of course, her aunt and other cousin were much nicer. Her aunt was quiet, and although she wasn't outspoken, she could easily win most arguments with her husband, even though he was the Fire Lord. Her cousin was bullied even worse by his sister, her friends, and his dad, so it was easy to talk with him. Him and his mom made the trips to the palace much nicer, and sometimes she even had the confidence to stand up to her cousin, and the bullying would stop for awhile. The last time she ever saw her cousins was about 7 years after she was adopted. That was when her father was forced to leave her for over 2 years, and also where this story will start.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Tami stepped off her father's warship, which was now hers, and scanned the massive dock for her aunt. She was usually the one who came down to pick her up, occasionally accompanied with Zuko, or even a pouting Azula.

Tenzin, Tami's personal guard, joined her at the foot of the loading dock, not letting his charge out of his sight. Tenzin had been with Tami ever since her first visit to the palace by herself, when she was about 3. Now he was like family.

As Tami searched, she saw a pale, waving hand through the crowd. It was attached to a young woman wearing a dark red gown, looking to be almost in her 30s, with fair skin and black hair waving down to her elbows. That was her aunt.

Tami smiled, relieved her uncle Ozai had decided to let her stay with him...again. She hefted her bag onto her back and waited until Tenzin had his bag secure and on his back before starting towards her aunt.

Her aunt smiled her wide smile that could make anyone feel special, and helped Tenzin with his bag as they started on their way to the palace. Usually the royals used the litter, lest they get their perfect feet dirty, but Tami's aunt wasn't like most royals. "So, Tami, I see you're back," her aunt said.

Tami blushed. "Yes, and father said for 2 years this time!"

She nodded knowingly. "I'm sure Zuko will be happy to see you again."

"Where is he?" Tami blurted out bluntly.

"Sulking. The last I heard, before I left to get you, was that Azula and her friends had tripped him, and he fell into the pond. I do think a visit from you should cheer him up significantly." her aunt waved to a man carting cabbages.

"I suppose," Tami said.

They chatted for awhile after that until they reached the palace. As they approached the wall, Tami's aunt waved her hand, and guards promptly opened the gate for her, and shut it as the little trio walked on. Servants who scurried by would pause to say hello to the Fire Lord's niece and wife, before continuing on with their lives. Only when they walked along through the garden did the friendly atmosphere turn cold.

Tami turned to admire the tiger lilies, which hadn't been here the last time she came, but crumbled when she met Azula's golden, glaring eyes.

"Azula, what a nice surprise," her mother said to her daughter politely, inclining her head as she did so.

"It shouldn't be a surprise to see your own daughter in her own house," Azula said in reply. She swung her cold gaze to her mother. "What is she doing here?"

"Father had to go back to war," Tami said hurriedly.

Azula groaned. "Weren't you JUST here? You might as well put on a maid's uniform and sleep with the servants, at least then some use can come out of your never ending visits."

"Then where's your uniform Azula? After all, you've lived here much longer than Tami," said a damp figure, who was walking to where Tami, her aunt, Azula, and Tenzin were talking. He was hardly taller than Tami, with the same black hair, in a short ponytail, and pale skin as his mother. Tami noticed that his dark red garb was singed all over.

"Zuko, I'm glad you decided to join us," his mom said, beaming. "I see you've dried yourself up well enough."

Azula smirked. "Yes, and you've managed to burn yourself, too. Such a skilled fire bender, that's my brother Zuko."

He glared at her. "It's you and your friends fault I was even wet."

"No! It's your own fault for being so close to the pond. How were we supposed to know you'd go and fall in over some stupid trick?"

"Enough! You've both said your side, there's no need for accusations or rudeness, from either of you. You are the crown prince and princess, show some dignity!" Their mother gave them both stern looks, to which Zuko at least had the grace to look ashamed. Azula, on the other hand, just hmphed and stalked away.

Already used to the daily spats of Azula and Zuko, Tami didn't feel as invasive as she had the first time. She politely let Zuko's mom regain her composure before she asked her anything. As she waited, she waved to Zuko, who returned the wave with a smile.

Tami's aunt sighed, and gave Tami a weary smile. "For the hundredth time, I apologize for the behavior of my children. I can only pray they'll treat you much nicer than they treat each other."

Zuko huffed as he grabbed Tami's arm and started to pull her down the garden path. "You know I always do, Mother. We'll see you at supper, ok?"

His mom nodded before starting on her way back to the palace. Tenzin wavered, unsure of whether he should follow Tami and her cousin or not, until Tami's aunt made the decision for him and invited him to tea.

In the garden, Tami was being yanked to and fro by Zuko who, when asked where they were going, just demanded she walk faster. After several more minutes of pulling and dragging, they finally stopped before a large hedge that seemed to have no end in either direction. Tami turned to ask Zuko what he was showing her when he grabbed her hand, and started walking through the hedge, pulling Tami along too. There were a lot of thorns, and some branches that just didn't want to budge but when they finally wrenched free, the sight was worth it.

The first thing she noticed was the gigantic oak tree that stood at the edge of a small pond. It seemed golden yellow in the late afternoon sun, and the leaves were the bright green of spring. It's branches were low hanging and numerous, just inviting her to climb them, and tons of wild flowers littered across the spacious meadow. She could easily see herself writing or drawing here in privacy, without having to worry about Azula and her friends sneaking up behind her and ripping up the papers.

"It's awesome! How'd you find it?" Tami asked, turning away from the scene to face Zuko, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Daeron, who's the head gardener, found me wandering through his flower beds, and decided to keep me out of his hair by showing me this little garden. I knew you'd love it, and I haven't stepped in here until you came."

Tami hugged Zuko, and bounced over to a low branch on the tree that was the perfect height to lounge in. "Thank you! I love it!"

**So, ya, I wrote this. I know my writing style is quite amateur, I'll be improving upon it, I hope. Writing is more of a way for me to direct my own show though, you know? Teehee, that rhymed.**

** Anywho, thank you so much for reading, I'll try and update for those who like it! Please comment, it helps me.**

** Bye! **


	2. Chapter 2

For the next few months, Tami was actually content. She always visited the little meadow, and usually read or drew in peace. Sometimes she would go with Zuko and play War or Ruler, with her always being the Avatar that would end up being killed. She would go with Azula and Zuko for their numerous lessons, excelling in bending training and arithmetic. When she was presented to grandfather Azulon with Azula and Zuko to show the newest moves she'd learned in bending training, she was continuously surprised to actually earn an approving nod from him every week. Life was great at the Fire Lord's palace, for the first time ever.

One time, about 9 months after Tami settled into her daily routine of breakfast, lessons, and drawing and reading at the meadow, a set of gifts and letters arrived from her father.

Azula, Zuko, and Tami all hurried to the throne room, where Tami's aunt was waiting.

"For my strong young nephew, Zuko, I bestow upon you an army knife that was wielded by a brave Ba Sing Se warrior in one of our numerous battles. I know you will do it justice." she read out, handing Zuko the knife. He whooped, and started running around the room, jabbing at invisible foes.

"For my beautiful niece, Azula, I give you a popular doll amongst the young women, accompanied with all the latest Ba Sing Se fashions." Azula held the doll out, looking at it with repulse.

"And for my loving daughter, Tami, I have managed to locate another Pai Sho tile, this one being a White Lily, in a broken home somewhere in the middle of the poor part of this great city. As I recall, this would be your ninth one? With love, Uncle Iroh." Tami's aunt concluded the letter as Tami squealed with excitement and took the white lily tile from the table to examine it.

Azula rolled her eyes at Tami's reaction to her gift, her own gift hanging by its finger in her hands. "What's so great about a stupid Pai Sho tile?"

Tami ignored her rude tone as she stashed the white lily in a brown bag hanging at her hip. "Father had taught me about Pai Sho, and how everything has a story. And when I found my first tile, a wheel, in an abandoned hut by the stream, I started thinking about its story. Now every time he finds a Pai Sho tile in someplace new, he keeps it for me. I hope to find enough orphaned Pai Sho tiles to finally play a game with Father, and talk with him about each one's story." Tami bounced a bit on her toes. Her aunt looked honestly fascinated, Zuko continued to play with his knife, and Azula laughed haughtily.

"I knew it. Uncle Iroh has finally gotten so old that he's gone crazy, and now he's rubbed his craziness onto you."

Tami opened her mouth to protest, but was cut off by Azula, who raised her doll until it was right in front of Tami's face. "Do you know what I think of Uncle's stupid gifts?" Zuko noticed Azula, and stopped his playing to listen. "They should burn." The doll suddenly burst into flames, lighting up Azula's mean golden eyes and Tami's frightened blue ones. The charred remains of her doll fell to the floor as she turned and walked off.

The happy mood in the room dissipated, and when Tami fled, trembling, to the meadow, it was gone completely.

About an hour later, Tami didn't show up for dinner, and Zuko was sent to bring her food. Knowing immediately where she had run to, Zuko wasn't all that surprised to see her laying on the lowest hanging branch, looking into the distance sadly.

He carried the tray laden with soup, duck, salad, and tarts over to her branch, and settled down against the trunk so wide that it needed 5 grown men to reach around the entire thing. "I'm sorry about Azula, Tami. I know she is mean, but all i know what to do to make you happy is stay in this garden," he sounded weary. "She hurts me too, and I'm just glad I have you to talk with."

"Me too," she said. With a rustle of her dress and the leaves, she slid down to eat her food in quiet, quick bites. When she got to dessert, she handed Zuko one of her tarts, who took it with a quiet thanks.

They sat there in thoughtful silence for awhile more until Zuko felt Tami's head on his shoulder. Only until he knew, for sure, that she was asleep did he relax, until he finally fell asleep too.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The day finally arrived; Tami's leaving day. The whole palace seemed to be in tears that day, except Ozai, of course. Tami still felt touched. Now 9, she had managed to endure 2 whole years without having been tortured by Azula, and it felt great.

Tenzin was waiting at the steps for Tami at dawn, already packed and ready to depart, while Tami was still inside giving out her goodbyes.

"Goodbye Uncle Ozai, my father and I are eternally grateful that you continue to accommodate me into your household." Tami did a bow before Ozai, who just looked at her.

Tami hurried to Azula. "Goodbye Azula, my...," Tami hesitated on the word as Azula smirked at her, "loving cousin." Tami and Azula exchanged fake I-am-so-glad-you're-my-cousin hugs before Tami continued onto Zuko who was now 11

This time her goodbye was sincere. "Goodbye, Zuko. I'll miss you the most of all," she whispered before picking her bag up and heading down to the front gate without a backward glance.

"Tami, there's something I need to tell you," a gruff voice said from behind Tami as the boat sailed away.

Tami whirled around to see her father, Iroh, and squealed as she leaped into his arms. "Oh, father, how are you? Did you win the war? Oh, I've missed you so much. I got your Pai Sho tile, you know, and now I only need..." she trailed off, noticing that her father's face was grim and depressed. "What's wrong, father?"

Tears were running down his face and into his gray whiskers now, which Tami was quick to spot. "Father! What is it?"

"Lu Ten, he's-" Iroh couldn't seem to go on. Tami's eyes searched Iroh for any clue as to what had happened.

"He's dead!" Iroh burst out, before promptly crumbling to the bench behind him and letting his head fall into his worn hands.

Tami sat next to him, a little shocked to see her father sobbing and his usually strong body quivering, looking as frail as a leaf about to fall from a winter tree. "But, how-"

"It was me." his voice trembled. "I was his general, he was my soldier. He was my _son_. This war, this shouldn't have happened. He shouldn't have died!"

"Father, I-"

"No," he whispered. Tami stared at him, so confused. All she was trying to do was help him. "No, Tami," he repeated.

Tami took her hands away from his shoulders. "But, father, I was only trying to help," she said quietly.

He sighed, then turned to face her. "Tami, I am not your father." Before he knew it, he was telling her the whole story, from when she was taken from her true family in the Southern Water Tribe, up until now. He couldn't stop himself. The grief he felt from losing his son fueled this decision. It made him realize that he couldn't continue pretending like Tami was his. He needed to let go, and let her find her real family.

She was quiet as he finished his tremendous confession. "Why would you do this? _How _could you do this?" She demanded, not meeting his eyes. "I.." she huffed and stood up. "I don't even know what to say."

Iroh stood up, too. "I can't keep you anymore, Tami. I know what I did was wrong, but realize, you would be in the war right now if I hadn't intervened." she didn't acknowledge him. "You need to leave. You have a right to live your own life. I had set our course for an island near your home, Kyoshi Island, and I have new clothes for you, and a boat, and you'll have everything you need to start a new life."

"Why should I trust you?" she finally said, sending a blow to Iroh's heart, and ripping it even more in his fresh grief.

He stayed silent.

In the bathroom, Tami stared at herself in the mirror, dressed in her new clothes, and suddenly wondered how she hadn't noticed how different she was from the Royal Family. She was blue eyes, while they had golden. Her skin was a darker tan, whereas theirs was pale. Even her hair was different; a dark curly brown instead of black hair. Her naivety, for all those years, embarrassed her and she turned away in shame.

The preparation was little; Iroh had already planned everything in advance. Tami didn't return his hug, nor did she hear his words. She didn't care what he had to say anymore, it was all lies in her ears. She numbly climbed into the boat, barely felt the splash as it hit the water, and her eyes didn't notice that Iroh was waving to her as she bended to the island. It all passed in a blur, to her.

When Iroh returned he broke the news as if he had lost two children, Lu Ten to the war, Tami to the ocean. Not long into his mourning, another death reached his ears, a death that would catastrophically change his world even more than the death of his kids had. Azulon. From that point on, the Royal Family was thrown into chaos, a chaos that Tami wasn't part of anymore, for she had found a home on Kyoshi Island

**Ok, show of hands to those who recognize these scenes from Zuko's flashbacks (in the series)? Yup, all you crazy fans out there, I did that on purpose. I had no idea how to write the whole mom thing, still kinda confused about it myself, so sorry 'bout that. Also, I just realized that I haven't see the series in a while, so I need to get up on that, and update my writing.**

**P.S. I just read a fanfic (sorry, author, don't remember the title or your name) but it was about Katara and Toph switching bodies, and then Toph could SEE and that totally got me wanting to write about that, so...look out for a Toph related story in my library.**

**SO, now on, we read from the cartoon series. Yaaaay! Once again, please review**

**Bye**


	3. Chapter 3

I'm rather surprised that not one of the trespassers, not even one, had noticed us hanging out in the trees above their heads. Yes, I know that Kyoshi Warriors are the epitome of stealth, and I agree that we are a formidable force to reckon with, but come on! No amount of training and camouflage could change the undeniable fact that we could not hid amongst the leafless, winter tree branches. That is just the hard truth. Perhaps if one, even the dense, bulky one that looked as bright as night, had looked up, they wouldn't be as surprised to be jumped on and captured as they are now. Really, it was their own fault we seized them so easily.

Now, making them talk was a harder challenge. As far as we knew, they were Fire Nation spies, intent on dragging Kyoshi Island into the Hundred Year War. Um, no thank you. We've seen how the war has affected other, less keen villages that've had the idiocy of forming a position, and we would not like to be a part of it, thank you very much.

I'd been too busy tying restraints on the prisoners and dragging them to our unofficially named Interrogation Post to even see who they were, so while Suki (the head Kyoshi Warrior) and Oyaji (our village's leader) questioned them, I took the time to have a closer work. That's kinda my job, in our village. I was rather good at evaluating people. Ever since I first beached in this island, I had been determined to never be fooled by appearances again.

The block headed one that kept making a fool of himself was easy; sexist, dripping with testosterone, and unbelievably arrogant. And, no, my eyes did not miss the dark skin, dark hair, blue eyes, and Southern Water Tribe clothing of his people. _My_ people.

The girl accompanying the group was what interested me the most. Ever since the bag that covered her face was removed upon her arrival at the IP, I had a hard time stifling my hopeful thoughts. Her face, literally, was identical to mine. Hers was glaring, and mine was stoic, but I would be able to recognize my own face anywhere. I swear the only reason no one has remarked upon it yet was because I still wore the Warrior makeup.

It was becoming very difficult to ignore the feelings I kept deep in my soul. Not one day has passed in the 5 years since I was accepted into the village that I haven't pondered over the family I lost. That I haven't wondered about the family I had to leave for my protection. That I haven't experienced guilt for the way I treated Iroh in our last moments together. In the beginning of my new life In Koyshi Island, every new visitor would spark my hope, and I would create outrageous theories that would somehow tie them to me, just to have each and every one reveal themselves to just be any other merchant, or trader, or fisherman. As the years progressed, although I admit that my glimmer of hope still remained, it diminished with each disappointing farewell, to the present time where, even faced with as good of evidence as an identical face, I squashed it.

"Suki, they are of no harm," I said, interrupting her threat to toss them to our unagi, which would be very humorous to watch. No, I knew they couldn't possibly be spies. Plus, maybe I could find out more about them….

"Are you sure? They could be Fire Nation spies, you know, Tami." Oyaji said worriedly. "Kyoshi Island has stayed neutral in this war, foreigners, and we intend to keep it that way," he said to the three firmly.

Before I could adamantly defend my intuition, the bald boy with the strange blue tattoos spoke up. "Kyoshi Island? As in Avatar Kyoshi? I know her!"

"That's impossible," Suki retorts.

"She died centuries ago, how could you possibly know her?" Oyaji adds, suspicion dripping in his voice.

Then the kid spouts some crap like he was the Avatar and the Warriors immediately advance in order to squander this lunatic. Until he freaking airbends up and out of the noticeably weak knots (which were Anya's fault, he was her hostage to tie up) up 15 feet in the air, before floating down, as if it was perfectly normal for someone to just FLY IN THE AIR LIKE A FREAKING BIRD OR SOMETHING.

The village erupts in cheers and chaos, and Drew the village dork even starts foaming at the mouth and fainting in his excitement. Once again I can't believe that Suki ever dated him. The three newcomers are whisked off and the Warriors sent back to the dojo before I even had a chance to fight my way through the crowd to talk to the girl, and I might've maybe stalked off and performed our techniques with a bit of a pout.

My opportunity came later, though, after the jerkwad water tribe boy came by and totally got whooped by Suki. After that atrocious episode, Suki was too overcome with laughter that she excused the girls until their afternoon session.

I hurried to wash off my makeup and change into normal clothes, then run to the town, searching for the girl. No, I wasn't being a stalker. This was a matter of my fate. I wouldn't see her again, probably, so even I totally creep her out and she turns out to be just my doppelgänger, then I could just continue with my incomplete existence, and never have to worry about her again.

Finally, I found her examining our produce, and casually walked over, as if I didn't just run 3 miles, searching for her. Fortunately, I was very in shape, and my obsessive searching didn't show.

"Hello, can I help you carry anything?" I said as friendly as possible.

"No, its fine, I have it covered," she said, not looking up, before the fruits and veggies she gathered in her basket and arms tumbled onto the ground.

She and I laughed and we proceeded to kneel down and gather up the food.

"I'm Tami," I said before I could stop myself.

"Hi, I'm Katara." She looked up to give me a smile for helping her out, then her smile froze, and she stood up slowly, as if from shock. I inwardly cringed. Perhaps I shouldn't have taken off my makeup. Maybe approaching her in all my…well…sameness would be labeled under the Coming on Too Strong list of things I've done.

"You-" she started.

"So I'm not the only one, right?" I blurt out. "You can see that we look alike too?"

She nodded, a shocked expression still plastered on her face.

I let out a relieved sigh, and the tension leaves my shoulders. There was hope yet. Before I can stop myself, though, I'm squeezing her close to me, and sobbing into her back. Talk about coming on too strong. She gave a surprised sound as I hugged her, but I was already too far into my weirdness, so I thought, hey, why not just go full blown?

"I'm sorry, Katara, I know we just met, and this is totally weird that this complete stranger that looks exactly like you is hugging you and crying on you, but it's just…" I huff, because how can someone just explain that they are your long lost twin and that you're sisters and that she wants to meet the rest of the family?

Katara breaks apart from me, and assesses me. Her eyes aren't repulsed, or creeped out, like I had assumed they would be. There's only worry and kindness in her eyes, and I break out into fresh tears. God, what person is so nice that they worry about some weirdo that just grabs them and starts crying?

"I'm listening," she said encouragingly, sitting us down on the porch of the market house.

"Oh, Katara, I'm not crazy, honestly," I please to her. "I'm your long lost twin. I was taken when we were just babies, by the Fire Nation, and they released me and I came here when I was nine, and I've been thinking of our family for forever, and I just know that you're my sister because what are the chances of someone showing up in Southern Water Tribe clothes and looking exactly like me without being related? Slim, so I just wanted to talk to you before you guys leave, because I just KNOW you're my twin. Please believe me, I'm not lying," I quickly add after my confusing explanation.

I had been watching her expression throughout my entire speech. Her motherly expression was holding up for a while, but then even she couldn't hide her immediate shock at the mention of me being her twin, and was still trying to rebound from that, but her mouth was still gaping.

I anxiously waited for her response, which was taking an EXTREMELY long time, when a yell diverts her attention.

She turns to me and says, "We'll talk later," before running off in the direction of the beach.

**Woot Woot! Starting off with a trip to Kyoshi Island. Sorry, I didn't want to exceed 2,000 words, so this will be continued in the NEXT chapter/update. Yay. Hopefully each episode won't take two chapters (that'd be an extremely long fanfic) and this chapter was long just because we have to explain the entire shebang to the gang, but if that isn't the case, we'll live.**

**Once more, please review, especially now that we're bringing in the main peeps**

**Bye!**


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